Browns falter early in loss to Bengals

Monday

The feel-good story of the year spat out a shocking chapter: The play-bad game of the week.

The feel-good story of the year spat out a shocking chapter: The play-bad game of the week.

Needing a win to clinch a playoff spot, the Browns drifted early, followed Derek Anderson off the side of the bridge, and endured a hard lesson from the ghost of expansion seasons past.

But what lesson? Browns fans need their pain? Enjoy it?

“Everyone here has had my back all season,’’ Anderson said after a 19-14 loss to the Bengals. “It is hard to look around this locker room after a disappointing loss.”

On a sub-freezing Sunday made vicious by blasting winds, the Browns fell to 9-6.

“They played in the same conditions we did,” wideout Joe Jurevicius said. “I don’t think we should use any excuses. We just didn’t play well enough.”

The consequences were severe enough.

Their postseason fate comes down to this: If they beat the 49ers and Tennessee loses at Indianapolis next Sunday, they’re in. If the Titans win at Indy, Tennessee gets the second wild-card spot and the Browns are out.

Anderson, who played under the weather, had looked like Dan Marino during a 51-46 win over the Bengals three months earlier.

In Sunday’s rematch, the Browns were shaky throughout the first half but trailed just 6-0. It was 19-0 faster than you could say Spurgeon Wynn. Anderson threw interceptions on three series in a row overlapping halftime.

The first, a short check-down with a blitz coming, was in the vicinity of running back Jason Wright.

“That’s my fault,” Wright said. “I thought the ball was going behind me, which happens sometimes on crossing routes. I didn’t get in the way, so I ducked down. It was probably a good ball. I’ll take the rap.”

The second, again with Anderson feeling a rush, went over the middle but not close to Braylon Edwards. Rookie Leon Hall made easy pick No. 2.

“That right there lost the game,” Anderson said of throwing picks on back-to-back plays.

The third, with the offense finally breathing on the end zone, was a misjudgment of elements. On first and goal, Anderson took a shot at Kellen Winslow Jr. in the back of the end zone. The rookie, Ndwuke, got another present.

“They were both just being at the right place at the right time,” Ndwuke said.

A fourth interception, with the Browns in position to chop the deficit to 19-14, was an underthrown, would-be TD pass to Kellen Winslow Jr. Cornerback Johnathan Joseph capitalized.

“We had a great drive going,” Anderson said. “The ball hung up in the air. It was like it fell out of the sky ... I wish I would have throw it a little firmer.”

The picks resulted in:

- A short touchdown pass to T.J. Houshmandzadeh to make it 13-0 with 1:05 left in the first half.

- A short TD run by Kenny Watson to make it 19-0 just 39 seconds later.

- The Browns burning more than six minutes of third-quarter clock without denting Cincinnati’s lead.

- The Brady Quinn question popping.

Head Coach Romeo Crennel said he did not consider switching to the rookie quarterback on a day Anderson went 29-of-48 for 251 yards and two touchdowns. Still, the four interceptions were killers.

“I’m not gonna blame everything on the wind,” Anderson said.

At first, he blamed the wind for two of the picks, but then changed his tone as to how many were his fault.

“All four of them,” said Anderson, who somehow finished the day with a better quarterback rating than Carson Palmer (53.4 to 44.8).

The Bengals, leading 19-14, went for the kill late, driving to the Cleveland 22 just inside the two-minute warning. Injury replacement Kenny Watson, who posted career bests of 30 carries and 130 yards, ran into trouble.

“Andra (Davis) did a great job reading the play, coming down and stripping the ball,” linebacker D’Qwell Jackson said. “I fell on it. It gave us a chance.”

The Browns took over with 1:48 left, needing to go 83 yards for a game-winning touchdown.

“You never count yourself out until the scoreboard reads zero-zero,” Jackson said.

Anderson passed the Browns to the Cincinnati 29. On a desperation play, he scrambled, was chased, and threw into the end zone. The ball skipped off the turf.

The clock read 0:00.

“Frustrated? No,” Jackson said. “We’re not frustrated. We know we can play. Just a little disappointed.”